Beautiful Death
by RainStopper
Summary: A/U; IchiRuki; As Ichigo slowly drifted into unconsciousness, the last thing he remembered was looking up into his savior’s face and seeing the most beautiful set of dark, violet eyes he had ever seen. “Why didn’t I notice those before?” he thought.
1. Violet Hypnosis

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

A/N: This is my first fanfic, so I don't quite know what to expect, and neither do you I guess :P Enjoy.

* * *

_Smack!_ Ichigo's head dipped violently forward as someone slapped the back of his head with what Ichigo could only assume was a high disregard for their own life. As he turned to mark his prey for an after-class execution, he heard a female snickering in the seat behind him.

"_Of course. Tatsuki_." Ichigo's characteristic scowl deepened as he realized he wouldn't be able to kill her after class. After all, she was technically a girl, though the last guy that pointed that out ended up learning exactly how much of a disadvantage that didn't turn out to be.

"What the hell, Tatsuki?!? It's freaking 8AM!" he whispered vehemently, making sure the teacher couldn't hear.

"I told you not to take Chemistry this early in the morning again! You barely made it through last semester, and you're already daydreaming on the first day back from break!"

"Yea, well, if you keep hitting me in the back of the head like that, you're liable to give me a concussion and put me to sleep faster, so could you _stop_?"

"Che. Do what you want. I'm not letting you copy my notes again this semester."

"Whatever." Despite the defiance Ichigo displayed to Tatsuki, he knew she was right. As soon as he tried to re-focus on what the teacher was saying, his mind immediately began to drift back to the events of several nights before...

_**-Flashback-**_

Ichigo walked across the open soccer field next to his college's gym. He had just finished working out, and although going through the field would force him to take a slightly longer route back to his dorm, he found the night air refreshing. In fact, the walk back to his dorm was one of the main reasons he liked to work out at night—that and the fact that fewer people crowded him out at the gym. He had come back a few days early from break, too, so the entire campus was even more deserted, making the walk that much more peaceful.

At least it would have been, but for the annoying ghost that had been hanging around the soccer field.

Although seeing and listening to ghosts since he was a little kid had largely desensitized Ichigo to their sometimes horrific appearances and their continuous complaints about death, he still felt pity every time he saw one. Sometimes they were nice and he didn't mind, like the little girl he used to bring flowers to back in his home town, but other times they were just, well, annoying as shit.

The soccer field next to his college's gym, unfortunately, was possessed by one of the most annoying ghosts Ichigo had come across to date. He had been a soccer coach at the college many years ago, and at first Ichigo had felt really bad for him. With a little research, Ichigo found out that he had never won a game when he was alive, and he died from a heart attack after his 217th loss in a row. "_No wonder the guy can't rest in peace_." Ichigo remembered thinking.

Unfortunately for Ichigo, this ghost also seemed to think he was still a coach—Ichigo's coach.

"Run! What are you doing, son!?! How are we ever going to win a game with that kind of attitude? I want to seem some hustle, damn it!"

Ichigo sighed. It looked like he wasn't going to get his peaceful walk home. He thought about telling the ghost off, but last time he tried that the old coach broke down into continuous wailing over his lack of wins, and the sound of the fat old ghost crying over how much he sucked annoyed Ichigo even more.

Scowling, Ichigo hurried to the other end of the field; luckily, the ghost seemed to be bound to his soccer field, so Ichigo would soon be rid of him. As he passed by the goal standing at the end of the field, his goodwill got the better of him and he decided that he'd better tell the ghost something nice before going back to his dorm. As Ichigo turned, however, all of his senses suddenly came alive and he seemed to lose his balance.

It was as if an invisible force had pushed Ichigo down. Gasping for breath, he stumbled to one knee, noticing in the process that the very air around him seemed to blur.

"What the hell is going on?!?" Straining his head against the oppressive force that kept him from his feet, he looked over to where the ghost was floating some 30 feet away.

"_No way_."

The old coach looked like he was about to explode. His body was contorting into a sickening position, and weird whitish ooze seemed to be flowing out from all over his body. More frightening, though, was the chain hanging from the ghost's chest. Ichigo had long since become accustomed to the loose chains hanging from every ghost's chest, and he assumed it was some sort of sign of being dead. But he had never seen a chain do this before.

_This_ chain had mouths. Lots of them.

And teeth. Lots of big, sharp looking teeth.

And it was not happy.

As Ichigo watched, the old coach's screams were literally drowned out by ooze coming from his mouth. The slimy looking substance seemed to move on its own and was now present in much larger quantities than should possibly come out of a human body, even if it is dead. Furthermore, the chain seemed to be eating itself.

Straining, Ichigo managed to stand up, never taking his eyes off the transfigured form in front of him. "Old man! Hey! What the hell is going on? If this is some weird-ass ghost trick, you better stop right now!"

Something inside of him knew it wasn't, though.

All at once, the chain finished consuming itself and completely fell away, leaving a gaping hole in the ghost's chest. As Ichigo watched this happen, the thing in front of him—he couldn't call it a ghost anymore—let out a horrific sound that seemed to be part roar and part scream. "_This is not good_," Ichigo thought, even as he realized he probably couldn't escape while under this tremendous pressure.

The creature had grown much larger now; it was probably the size of a moving truck, Ichigo guessed, and the ooze seemed to be changing colors. The body was now the color of a birthmark, with bright red markings throughout. As Ichigo watched, two gigantic green arms with cruel-looking claws, followed by even bigger legs of the same color, formed out of the ooze.

The most frightening part by far, however, was the face. _"If death had a face_," Ichigo thought, "_This would be it_." The color of the face had not altered from the ooze's original white, giving it the unsettling appearance of bare bone. The eyes were deep-set and seemed to glow yellow; nothing human in them remained.

"It looks like a mask..." Ichigo thought as he stared up in terrified awe.

As the creature completed its transformation, the pressure eased up and Ichigo found he could move again. And move he did. Ever since Ichigo was little, he had seen ghosts. They were annoying and needy sometimes, but never had he once seen a ghost grow to twenty times its normal size, put on a mask, and roar bloody hell. Shocked as he was, though, Ichigo wasn't about to stick around and find out what the creature intended to do with its new car-sized arms.

So he ran. Fast.

As Ichigo tore through campus, he could see the creature chasing after him, and any suspicions he had about whether it was friendly or not were immediately erased. He could also see that the creature was much faster than him.

"Crap!" Ichigo yelled as the creature brought his fist down, making a large indentation in the ground where Ichigo had been but a moment before. Sprinting away around the end of the Social Sciences Building, he risked a look before turning the corner and saw the beast standing up straight after its punch. Instead of immediately giving chase, however, it paused.

"Thank God. Maybe it hurt its arm when it hit the ground." Turning the far corner of the building, Ichigo began to run across the lawn on the opposite side of the building, but his relief was short-lived. A piercing roar sounded from above him, and he looked up just in time to see the hollow leaping down at him from the top of the Social Sciences Building. He dodged to the side...but not fast enough. The beast's arm caught him in a sweeping blow to the side that sent him sprawling across the lawn.

"Shit." Bringing himself up to a kneeling position, Ichigo immediately gripped his side in agony. Blood poured out between his fingers, and he was pretty sure some ribs were broken. "Damn. All that from one hit. Looks like I won't be running anymore."

The creature, perhaps sensing its prey's distress, moved slower now. As it walked across the lawn towards Ichigo, roaring and piercing him with its intense yellow gaze, Ichigo thought, "_Damn. How am I supposed to fight something like that? I wish I would have beaten him up while he was still an annoying soccer coach._" Roaring again, the masked beast lazily swung its arm at Ichigo, who dodged to the side, rolling and coming back up to a kneeling position.

"That blow wasn't even serious! It's just toying with me now." Grimacing in pain, Ichigo glanced at his side. "But still, it looks like that last roll made my wound even worse. I don't know how long I can keep dodging without risking serious injury—either way, I'm finished."

Ichigo's thoughts were suddenly broken by the creature sending another lazy punch in his direction. With no other choice available to him, he dodged to the side again. Mid-roll, however, he felt another rib in his side snap, and the sudden pain caused him to lose his balance. Gasping, he landed on his back, looking straight up at the creature.

Seeing his prey completely helpless, the beast decided to get serious and raised its massive arm for the final blow. Powerless to do anything, Ichigo could only stare as his fate swung down to meet him. Involuntarily throwing his arm in front of his face, Ichigo prepared himself for the end.

Instead of hearing the sound of his own life ending, Ichigo heard the beast roar in what seemed to be anger or pain. Lowering his arm, Ichigo quickly realized why. Where the arm that would have crushed him used to be, there was now a bloody mess. Holding the stump of his once-massive arm, the creature roared again and again in pain.

"What the hell?!?" Ichigo exclaimed. "What happened?" Remarkably, someone answered him.

"I just saved your life. The least you could do is thank me."

Snapping his head to the side in reaction to the voice, Ichigo could not believe what he was seeing.

Standing beside him was a young woman who was unassumingly short and slight of build, but in looking her over it became abundantly clear to Ichigo that she was no college student out for a nighttime stroll. Her jet-black hair fell to her shoulders, and a single wild strand fell down to cover part of her face. Her skin was ghostly pale in contrast, and she appeared to be wearing a black..."Is that a Hakama?" he thought. In her right hand she grasped a katana dripping with blood. "At least that would explain the missing arm." he reflected.

"Well?" she said.

Realizing he'd been staring, Ichigo snapped to attention and painfully brought himself up to a crouch.

"Oh, sorry. Uh...thanks?" Rolling her eyes at the obviously stunned human crouching before her, she replied, "Looks like I saved a genius. Anyways, it's called a zanpaktou."

"'Zanpaktou'? A sword that cuts souls?"

Looking somewhat exasperated, the girl sighed deeply. "Yea...how else would I have cut that thing?" she said, gesturing at the still screaming creature.

"You mean that _thing_ has a soul? I thought it disappeared or something when the old coach transformed."

"Baka! That _thing_ is a soul." Sighing once more, she said, "Look, I really don't have time for this right now, so why don't I—"

The young woman was interrupted as the creature, apparently angered by the loss of one of his new arms, charged the two of them, bringing his good arm around in a wide arc. There seemed to be no time to react, and for the second time that night Ichigo thought he was going to die.

And for the second time that night, he didn't.

Even though he never saw her move, the young woman he had been talking to appeared before him, sword raised and ready. Ichigo could only watch, amazed, as she successfully blocked the creature's blow and then literally pushed it back with seemingly little effort. Wasting no time, she leapt into the air after the falling beast, and as it raised its good arm to block, she brought her sword down in an overhead blow that successfully turned her foe into a double-amputee. Landing lightly on her feet in front of the beast, she lowered her sword and instead stretched out a hand, palm forward, towards the creature.

"Way of Destruction #33: SOUKATSUI!" As the last syllable left her lips, a bright blue flash seemed to erupt from her hand and snake out towards the creature's head. Ichigo had to cover his eyes due to the brightness of the attack, but he quickly uncovered them to see if it enough to kill the creature. Apparently, it was.

The creature, with half of its head blown off, appeared to be disintegrating into thin air. After a few seconds, there was nothing left. The small woman in front of him lowered her arm, breathed deeply once, and then sheathed her katana. Satisfied with the outcome, she stood and began walking towards Ichigo. "You alright?" she asked.

"Yea, I'm just glad you—" Ichigo was cut off as a fit of painful coughing escaped his mouth. As he doubled over and brought his hand to his mouth, he noticed that there was a considerable amount of blood coming out with each cough. "Shit, I think I'm bleeding internally..." His words trailed off as he suddenly became very dizzy and started to fall to the ground. Fortunately, the young woman who had already saved his life caught him before he could hit the ground. Gently lowering him down, she brought him to a resting position on his back.

"Baka." she whispered softly. "It's too early to be moving around so much. Now lay still while I take care of this. You're just lucky I have friends in the 4th division that are willing to train with me."

The last thing Ichigo remembered was looking up into his savior's face and seeing the most beautiful set of dark, violet eyes he had ever seen. As blackness slowly began to creep in around the edges of his vision, Ichigo remained fixed on the vibrant orbs floating in front of him. "_It's like being hypnotized_." he thought. Then all was darkness.

_**-End Flashback-**_

Ichigo couldn't remember a lot about that night very clearly. What he did remember was waking up later on his back next to the Social Sciences Building, his wounds completely healed and the short woman in robes nowhere in sight. Although he had slowly pieced together the rest of the story in his mind over the last few days, it all seemed hazy for some reason, as if it were a dream. Were it not for those eyes and the beautiful face he remembered staring down at him, there was a good chance that he might have actually written the whole thing off as a dream. At any rate, chemistry class seemed terribly uninteresting by comparison.

* * *

The rest of day went by in a blur. It was one of Ichigo's long days since he had most of his classes to attend, and it was late in the afternoon by the time he headed over to the gym for his karate class.

"Oof! Geez, Tatsuki! Gimme a freaking break! I just got here and you're already throwing punches like you're going for a KO!"

"It's not my fault you're still distracted." Tatsuki replied as she lunged at him once more. This time, however, he was ready and managed to sweep her legs out from under her. She wasn't going down alone, though. As she fell, she grabbed Ichigo's gi and used her own weight to pull him down with her. When she landed on her back, she quickly placed one foot right in the middle of Ichigo's chest and pushed with all her might. Ichigo went flying back over her head and landed with a loud "Thump!" as he hit the floor.

Walking over to her training partner, Tatsuki bent over and looked straight down into his eyes, which seemed to be focused on something going on in the distance. "Good God! What is going on underneath that stupid orange hair of yours anyways? How many times am I going to have to throw you on the ground today before you get serious?" Bringing his eyes back into focus, Ichigo replied, "Che. I'm just a little tired from my long day of boring lectures. I could kick your ass if I wanted."

"Strong words from somebody who just got thrown across the room."

Though Ichigo seemed to try a little harder for the rest of practice, it was clear to Tatsuki that they weren't going to make any real progress today. "All well," she thought. "At least Ichigo has enough endurance to be an excellent punching bag." Needless to say, Ichigo was considerably sorer when he left than when he had arrived.

Despite the awful practice Ichigo had just had, he still found himself thinking about the short woman that had saved him as he walked back towards the residential side of campus. No matter how hard he tried, his thoughts seemed to drift back to those violet eyes. "The least you could do is thank me." she had said. Frowning, he thought that if he'd stayed _conscious_ long enough, that might have happened. He really was grateful, after all. Who wouldn't be?

Practically on impulse, his feet carried him to the soccer field next to the gym. The soccer team had finished their practice about an hour ago, so the place was deserted. Ichigo wasn't really expecting to find the old ghost hanging around again (since he was pretty sure it was dead), but he still felt mentally relieved when he didn't see any yelling coaches or giant beasts coming towards him.

"I still can't believe that happened." he sighed.

"You'd better start believing it, Strawberry."

Feeling the hair rise on the back of his neck, Ichigo turned to find a pair of deep violet eyes staring back at him, a smirk playing on their owner's lips.

* * *

A/N: I have no idea where this is going; I just got the urge to write. Let me know what you think.


	2. Nice to Meet You

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

A/N: I have some idea of where this is going in the next few chapters at least, but we'll see. Stories tend to write themselves sometimes. Also, as pointed out by my first reviewer, this is a half-A/U because Shinigami, etc. are still around, but fighting, etc. will not be the focus of this story. So yeah, on with the chapter!

* * *

**From Chapter 1:**

_Practically on impulse, his feet carried him to the soccer field next to the gym. The soccer team had finished their practice about an hour ago, so the place was deserted. Ichigo wasn't really expecting to find the old ghost hanging around again (since he was pretty sure it was dead), but he still felt mentally relieved when he didn't see any yelling coaches or giant beasts coming towards him._

_"I still can't believe that happened." he sighed._

_"You'd better start believing it, Strawberry."_

_Feeling the hair rise on the back of his neck, Ichigo turned to find a pair of deep violet eyes staring back at him, a smirk playing on their owner's lips._

_

* * *

_

She was exactly as he remembered her, right down to the single strand of ebony hair that fell across the front of her face. He also noted that she still wore the Hakama and had a katana—no, zanpaktou—at her side.

_Smack!_ For the second time that day, Ichigo felt his head thrown violently backwards after being slapped. Also for the second time that day, he felt himself being thrown to the ground, hard. When he looked up, the tiny woman stood over him with one foot placed on his chest and an evil grin on her face.

"What the hell?!?" he swore. She smiled even wider.

"I said something to you, and you just stared at me. That's rude, Strawberry."

"And why do you keep calling me freaking _Strawberry_?"

"Because," she said as she bent down and grabbed a handful of his hair, "you have ridiculously orange hair and-" She was cut off by Ichigo attempting to knock her off his chest, but she lightly jumped away into the grass, using his face as a springing board. "And because you still haven't told me your name, so I have no choice."

Jumping up, Ichigo glared at her and started to say something, but a smirk slowly spread across his face as he thought better of it. He couldn't let this girl get under his skin; he'd have to do something about it. Sporting his own evil grin, he said, "Like hell I'm going to tell my name to a little brat like you."

To Ichigo's delight, the woman's grin was replaced by a look of fury, but he didn't have long to revel in his victory. She raised her hand and brought it down in a short chopping motion while saying, "Way of Binding #1: Sai!" As soon as the last syllable left her mouth, Ichigo felt his arms being involuntarily shoved behind him like he was being handcuffed. As he fell to the ground, he realized that he couldn't move them at all anymore.

"Bitch! What did you do to my arms?"

"Nothing you didn't bring upon yourself. Now since you're already incapacitated, I have a few questions I need to ask you."

Even while struggling against the invisible binding that held him in place, Ichigo realized she was being serious this time. "Fine," he said, "But if I answer your questions you'll reverse whatever the hell you did, right?"

"Sure. Now, first question: why can you see me?"

"What? What kind of question is that? I thought you were being serious and you ask me something like that! Why wouldn't I be able to see you?"

Instead of becoming angry at his reply like he thought she would, she simply looked thoughtful for a moment. After seemingly deciding something in her mind, she said softly, "Because I'm a shinigami."

"Shinigami? What's that, some kind of special job title for monster assassins?"

Ignoring his comment, she continued. "No, a shinigami is exactly as the name implies: I am a courier of death. It's my job to send souls on to the next world."

"If you're just supposed to show dead people how to move on, then why the hell do you carry that sword around?"

"Baka! I told you that the monster you saw was a soul. And this sword," she said as she gestured to the katana at her side, "is a zanpaktou, as I told you before. It not only cuts souls, but cleanses them as well. Even though it looked like I killed that monster you saw, I really was just sending it on to the after life as I would with any soul."

"So what happened to the old ghost I saw that monster eat?"

"That monster was called a "hollow," and I'm sorry to say that it _was_ the old ghost you saw. When normal souls, called "pluses," have great regrets, they lose their human traits and become hollows. I didn't see that soul before it transformed, but I can tell you for sure that it must have been very unhappy about something." Hearing this last part, Ichigo couldn't help but laugh. Startled at the young man rolling around the ground laughing despite his hands being forced behind him, the shinigami asked him, "What's so funny?"

"Hahahahahaha! I know what the old man's regret was! He was a soccer coach when he was alive and he never won a single game! That guy became a freaking _monster_ because he sucked so badly as a coach! Gimme a damn break!"

Shaking her head at the apparently insane human in front of her, she continued, "Whatever his regrets were, you seem to understand everything I've told you."

Apparently becoming serious once more, Ichigo raised his eyes to her from his position on the ground.

"So let me get this straight. That monster I saw was some sort of evil version of a soul?"

She nodded.

"And you're a shinigami?"

She nodded again.

"And your job is to kill these "hollows" and send those, plus the normal souls, on to the next world?"

She nodded once more.

"Okay, I believe you."

She sighed in relief. "_Now I'm getting somewhere_." she thought. Continuing, she said "Well, now that that's settled, I have a few more-"

"Not! Are you kidding me? A courier of death? I don't know where you learned how to fight, but that's freaking ridiculous!"

Hearing his words, the young shinigami's eyes narrowed considerably. "Fool! You mean to tell me that you can see ghosts and hollows but that you can't believe in the existence of shinigami?"

"Look, I've been walking around all my life, but I've never once seen a freaking shinigami!"

"Baka! There's one standing right in front of you!"

"Yea right! Maybe you're not human, but like hell I'm gonna believe you're a shinigami or whatever you call it!"

A vein popping out of her head, she drew her Zanpaktou and pointed it directly at Ichigo lying on the ground in front of her. "Maybe I need to give you a little haircut so some sense can find its way into that fat head of yours..."

Before she could enact her threat, however, a voice floated across the field towards them. Kurosaki-kun! Is that you? Tatsuki said she saw you heading over this way and I just thought I'd see if you wanted to—wait, why are lying on your stomach like that?" The voice came from a young woman with hair nearly as shocking as Ichigo's. She wore jeans and a white tank top that seemed a little too tight for her well endowed "figure." Seeing Ichigo lying on the grass, she started to make a beeline for him.

"Inoue?" Ichigo said. For once, he was actually glad to see Tatsuki's bubbly, yet annoying, friend.

Looking at Inoue with an annoyed expression on her face, the shinigami sighed and said to Ichigo, "Kurosaki, huh? I didn't get to ask all of my questions, so don't get too comfortable using your hands..." As she said these last words, she snapped her fingers and Ichigo suddenly found he could use his arms again. Sitting up, he saw that the shinigami was about to leave.

"Wait! Just call me...Ichigo." Even as the words came out of his mouth, he couldn't understand why he had said them. Didn't this bitch just release him from some weird spell? Even as he argued with himself, however, he looked up to see her turn her head slightly to one side. As his gaze met hers, all of his reservations left him as he found himself staring into pools of molten violet once again.

"Well then, until later, Ichigo." she replied. Even as his own name reached his ears, she vanished without even a cloud of dust to show which way she had gone.

"Kurosaki-kun?" Inoue uttered as she came walking up to find Ichigo staring off into space. "Who were you talking you?"

Compelling himself to look away from the spot where the small shinigami had disappeared a moment before, he replied, "Oh hi, Inoue. I was talking to...actually, I'm not sure who I was talking to."

Inoue thought that was an odd way of saying he was just talking to himself, but it didn't matter. She was just happy that she found him. "Kurosaki-kun, since our residence halls are close to each other, do you want to walk back with me?"

Mentally groaning, he simply said, "Sure, Inoue." With that, he got to his feet and brushed the grass and dirt from his clothing. Even as he turned to join a beaming Inoue, however, he glanced back to the spot the shinigami had stood at not two minutes before. "Looks like chemistry is going to suck again tomorrow." he thought.

* * *

God Ichigo hated to be right.

Not only was chemistry boring as usual, but he was pretty sure Tatsuki was repeatedly cracking her knuckles on purpose to show him she was ready to kick his ass again later that afternoon. "_Che_." he thought. "_Even if I can't concentrate I won't let Tatsuki do that to me again_."

By the time lunch rolled around, the scowl on Ichigo's face had deepened so much that it threatened to become permanent. He couldn't stop thinking about the night before, and he was actually glad for once when his friend Keigo suddenly lunged at him in the middle of the cafeteria.

"I~~chig—ahhhh!" As Keigo flew through the air, he realized that Ichigo's foot was already outstretched and ready to meet his face. Unable to turn in the air, he had no choice but to take it like a man.

Ichigo smirked. Even if he was glad to see Keigo for once, he wasn't about to let the weirdo jump all over him in the middle of the cafeteria.

"Ichigo, why!?! I just wanted to show you where the group is sitting at today!"

"I can see them already, Keigo. But thanks." Indeed, Ichigo could see that his friends, eclectic bunch that they were, were already eating at one of the tables by the window. Although Inoue was nowhere in sight (causing Ichigo to breathe a sigh of relief), Tatsuki, Chad, and Ishida were all present.

Leaving Keigo to take care of his own injuries, Ichigo walked up to the table where his friends were already busy eating lunch, and plopped down in one of the open chairs. "Hey guys." he said by way of greeting.

It still amazed him how much of his friends' personalities were evident even in their greetings. Chad, a tall, muscular Mexican exchange student, was deceptively quiet and simply nodded at Ichigo's words. Tatsuki, who was busy eating, simply said, "Oy." Finally, Ishida, after pushing his glasses up and drawing his thin frame up slightly, replied, "Good afternoon, Kurosaki."

"So are you ready to get pounded on again later this afternoon?" Apparently, Tatsuki was willing to tear herself away from the food in front of her long enough to goad Ichigo about kicking his ass in practice the day before.

"I wouldn't count on it. I'll be ready for you today."

"Strong words for someone that spent a lot of time on the ground yesterday. We'll see. Anyways, Inoue told me you were kind enough to walk her back to her dorm last night." She said this last bit with a distinctively evil grin. If Ichigo had gotten his food already, he probably would have choked on it.

Regaining his composure, Ichigo said, "Yea, funny you should mention that, because Inoue said that you told her where I was at."

Laughing, Tatsuki's grin grew even wider. "Sorry Ichigo; I couldn't resist. Inoue is my best friend, and I have a hard time crushing her dreams..."

"Yea right. Thanks a lot. Watch my stuff guys; I'm gonna get some food."

As Ichigo walked around to look at the various food items, he was reminded of why he usually chose to eat in his room. Not only did the food look bad, but it wasn't exactly the most nutritious selection he'd ever seen. After scavenging what few appetizing dishes he could find, he headed back to the table. As he got closer, however, he noticed that Keigo was in the process of introducing someone.

"...just transferred in for this semester, but she's a few days late because the airlines screwed her tickets up." The girl had her back to Ichigo, but he could see that she was wearing a white and blue dress and had black hair that fell down to her shoulders. He also noted that she was quite short.

As Ichigo approached the table, Keigo turned to greet him and said, "Oy, Ichigo! Lucky you knocked me down earlier. This girl helped me up, and it turns out that she's new to campus. I was just introducing her to everyone."As the girl turned, Ichigo nearly dropped his tray.

"_You've got to be kidding me_."

A single, dark strand of hair covered part of her face, but if that didn't convince him, he had only to look at the eyes: they were still the deepest, most vibrant shade of violet he'd ever seen.

"Oh, you must be Ichigo." she said, smiling sweetly. "I'm Kuchiki Rukia. Nice to meet you."

* * *

A/N: Man, it feels good to not have to call Rukia "the shinigami" or "the young woman" anymore! Anyways, I know this chapter may have been a little boring because I had to get some of the background out of the way first, but I have a definite idea of where this going now. I know this seems awfully similar to the actual Bleach storyline right now, but as I said in the A/N above, it won't be. As a matter of fact, shinigami activities will not be a focus of this story, but more of a means to an end... So yeah, review if you like or pm me with any comments, etc. Ciao.


	3. First Name Basis

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

A/N: I wrote those first two chapters pretty furiously, but now I think I'm going to step back and be a little more careful. Anyways, thanks to everyone that's read this so far.

* * *

**From Chapter 2:**

A single, dark strand of hair covered part of her face, but if that didn't convince him, he had only to look at the eyes: they were still the deepest, most vibrant shade of violet he'd ever seen.

"Oh, you must be Ichigo." she said, smiling sweetly. "I'm Kuchiki Rukia. Nice to meet you."

* * *

Rukia grinned inwardly. "_His expression is even better than I thought it would be." she mused. "And I'm not the only one that's noticed_."

As Ichigo stood gaping at Rukia, his friends observed his actions with surprise. They almost never saw Ichigo lose his cool, especially over something as simple as an introduction.

"_This is getting a little weird_." thought Tatsuki.

Finally, Ishida cleared his throat conspicuously, causing everyone to turn to him expectantly. Pushing up his glasses, he said, "Well, Kuchiki-san, since you're new, would you like to sit with us? I'm sure everyone would be more than happy to have you." This last part he added while staring at Ichigo pointedly.

"Oh thank you! I would like that very much!" Rukia replied in a surprisingly enthusiastic voice. As she sat down, she noticed that although Ichigo had seemed to recover, he was now scowling very deeply. She couldn't resist.

"Kurosaki, right? Aren't you going to sit down? There's one more chair left..." Smiling, she gestured towards the only open chair...which happened to be right next to her. He didn't lose his cool this time, but Rukia had to stifle a laugh as she heard him swear under his breath.

"_This is going to be fun_." she thought.

* * *

By the end of lunch, Ichigo was ready to lose it. After he had gotten over the initial shock of seeing Rukia—in normal clothes and without a sword—he thought that the rest of lunch would be fine. He could just ignore her for now, and then ask her what hell she was doing later. Besides, there was no way in hell he could bring it up in front of his friends. For some reason, he just didn't think his story about how she had sliced up a giant monster that was ready to kill him would go over very well...

Of course, Rukia was enjoying herself. She had spent the entire lunch talking in a sickeningly-sweet voice and pestering Ichigo about everything.

"Ichigo?" Rukia chortled.

Gritting his teeth, but trying to sound normal so his friends wouldn't catch on, Ichigo replied, "Yes Rukia?"

"We didn't have these in the cafeteria at my last school. Could you help me open it?" Rukia held up a juice box and looked expectantly at Ichigo.

That did it. Ichigo threw his hands up in the air and stood up at the table.

"We don't have those in this cafeteria, either! It's a freaking college! Where the hell did you even get that, and what do you mean you can't open it?" Looking down at Rukia with wrath in his eyes, he was surprised to find that she was staring off into space.

"Wha...?"

Unfortunately, Ichigo didn't have time to wonder about Rukia's blank look, because a fist came sailing out of the air and knocked him—for the third time this week, he noted—violently backwards.

"Ah! What the hell, Tatsuki!"

"Ichigo, don't be so mean to Kuchiki-san on her first day! Look, you upset her, dumbass!"

Looking at Rukia, Ichigo's next comment died in his mouth. It _did_ look like something was wrong. As he watched, her eyes fluttered and she shook her head as if clearing it. Appearing to ignore everything that had just happened, Rukia stood up and simply said, "I think I need some fresh air. I'll see you guys later. Without so much as a wave, she turned to go.

"Kuchiki? Where are you going already? We just met!" Keigo whined, staring after her.

"Well, that was strange." said Ishida. Chad nodded in agreement, watching Rukia weave her way among the tables in the cafeteria as she made her way out.

"See Ichigo? You did upset her, you idiot!" Tatsuki yelled.

Placing a couple of fingers to his forehead, Ishida reasoned, "Hmm, Ichigo was rude, but I don't think that's why she left. Ichigo, what-" Ishida stopped mid-sentence when he noticed that Ichigo was no longer standing next to the table. Instead, he seemed to be quickly making his way across the cafeteria in the direction Rukia had gone.

"I guess he's going to apologize, at least." Tatsuki said, sitting back down.

"Who's Ichigo going to apologize to?" Walking up from the other side of the cafeteria, Inoue sat down in one of the now-vacant seats, and looked at Tatsuki questioningly. "Wasn't he here just a second ago?"

"I'll tell you while you're eating. By the way, did you bring your lunch today?" Tatsuki asked.

Smiling happily, Inoue brought out a large container. "Yep, sure did! Today I have a spinach and sardine sandwich, and some fried pickles with a sweet-bean dipping sauce! Doesn't that sound great?"

Keigo and Tatsuki sweat-dropped at Inoue's description, but Ishida continued looking in the direction Rukia and Ichigo had gone. Speaking softly so only Chad could hear, Ishida said, "You know, it's funny, but Ichigo didn't use her family name even though they've only known each other for half an hour...supposedly." Chad simply nodded his ascent.

* * *

"_When was the last time that happened_?" Rukia wondered as she paused for a second just outside the doors to the cafeteria.

"_Oh, that's right_."

It was right before that hollow attacked Ichigo. Frowning, she also remembered that it had almost made her late in saving him. "I've got to go see Urahara about this." she said to herself. "If this doesn't stop, I could get someone killed."

"Rukia?"

Leaving her thoughts behind for the moment, Rukia was startled to see Ichigo leaning on the wall next to her, his arms folded and his eyes searching her questioningly. She shivered slightly under his gaze, but quickly regained her composure.

"Ichigo? What are you doing here? Don't you need to finish your lunch?"

"Oh so it's Ichigo now, is it?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

Grinning mischievously and using her sweetest tone, Rukia replied, "Oh Kurosaki-kun! Don't be angry just because I'm much better at pretending than you are!"

"Stop using that voice; it's annoying. Besides, I just came out to see why you got up to leave all of the sudden." Taken aback, Rukia allowed her guard to drop for a moment.

"Wha-what? I said I just needed some fresh air, didn't I?"

"Like I'd fall for that! What are you going to tell me next, that you spaced out for like half a minute and missed a golden opportunity to torture me _on purpose_?"

"_Damn. Is it that easy to tell_?" she thought. Truth be told, the little "spells" she'd been having were starting to worry her. Even so, she couldn't let him know what was really going on. He already knew more about shinigami than any human should.

"Baka! I was just thinking about something."

"Thinking pretty damn hard I'd say."

"Actually," she continued as a slight grin played across her lips. "I was thinking about how I never got a chance to finish questioning you..."

Hearing her words, Ichigo jumped back and raised his arms defensively. "What!?! Hell no! You are not using your weird spells on me again!"

Doing her best to stay serious, Rukia replied. "I'm not going to do that again...so long as you're agreeable and answer my questions. Okay?" As she finished her sentence, Rukia smiled up at Ichigo innocently, and he got the feeling that he'd better not call her a little brat this time.

"Fine." he said. "But let's not stand around in front of the cafeteria while we're doing it."

"Actually," Rukia paused thoughtfully for a moment. "I think I'll be around for awhile, so I suppose it would be useful if you showed me the campus."

"Fine with me." he answered.

Neither one of them was in any particular rush, so Ichigo took his time showing Rukia around campus. Although she had some experiences with the human world, Rukia found herself asking Ichigo lots of questions about the college—how many people attended there, what subjects students learned, and so on.

"_After all, the classes couldn't be that similar to the ones I took_ _in the Shinigami Academy_." she mused.

Ichigo didn't seem to mind showing Rukia around too much, either. The scowl that Rukia had already come to recognize as normal for him was replaced by a more neutral expression as they walked around. Privately, Rukia thought that his eyes showed a faint glimmer of something else, but she couldn't be sure.

After Ichigo had shown Rukia the more important buildings around campus, he led her to a small fountain next to the library.

"This is pretty." Rukia remarked absentmindedly. Ichigo just shrugged. "The library isn't the most popular place on campus, and we're along the backside of it. Not many people come through here very often." Sitting down at the edge of the fountain, Ichigo looked up at Rukia and said simply, "So, I think you had some questions..."

"Oh, right." Rukia mentally reprimanded herself for having forgotten her primary purpose for even being on campus. Had she really been enjoying herself so much that she forgot about her duties? She dismissed the thought immediately and continued on.

"Well, I think you already answered my first question the other day. You can obviously see shinigami and other souls—including hollows—when you shouldn't be able to. Have you always been able to do that?"

"Yeah, ever since I was little, but I don't really remember seeing any hollows until recently." Ichigo paused for a moment and looked up at her. "And I _certainly_ haven't seen any shinigami before."

Rukia frowned. "So you still don't believe me even after seeing all that you've seen?"

"How am I supposed to believe you? You say you're a shinigami or whatever, but you just look like any other girl to me. Of course," Ichigo added, smirking, "You are a bit shorter than normal...ahhh!"

Having just kicked Ichigo square in the jaw, Rukia smoothed out her dress and continued as if nothing had happened. "Ichigo, didn't it strike you as funny that Inoue couldn't see me the other night when she ran up to you on the soccer field?"

Ichigo scratched the back of his head. "Well, I hadn't really thought about it. But everyone can see you now right?"

Rolling her eyes, Rukia replied, "Ichigo, can other people see ghosts like you?"

"Well, no, but you're not a ghost, either. You don't even have a chain hanging from you're chest or anything."

"_Is he serious_?" Rukia thought. She was tired of going in logic circles. Sighing, she pulled out her small vial of gikongan and popped one in her mouth.

"Ahhhh! What the hell?!?" Ichigo jumped up in surprise as Rukia separated from her false body. She allowed herself a small smile at the sight of his distress.

"Still think I'm just another girl, Ichigo?" To her further amusement, he didn't reply immediately because he was too busy staring back and forth between her and her false body, which now lay lifeless on the ground.

"_That_," Rukia said as she gestured towards her false body, "is a gigai. It's a false body that I can get inside of in order to heal or to interact with humans." "This," she said as she pointed at herself, "is my true form as a shinigami. I'm not human, Ichigo...I'm not alive." With these last words, she watched Ichigo carefully to see his reaction. After about a minute or so of what appeared to be inner struggle, he finally sat back down at the fountain.

"Fine." he said. "I believe you."

Seeing his expression, Rukia sighed and re-entered her gigai. "Look, Ichigo, death is not what humans think it is. When you die, your soul moves on to Soul Society, which is where I am from. Death is more of a description of location than anything, so quit acting like I'm a corpse or something!" Rukia was surprised at the force of her last words, and she wondered to herself, "_Why is it so important for him to not think of me as dead_?" Feeling her face heat up slightly, she stole a glance down at Ichigo...

The bastard was smirking! Here she was worried about his reaction, and he's sitting there smiling about something. Feeling the fury building up inside of her, Rukia spoke in a low, dangerous tone. "Ichigo. What...exactly...is...so...amusing?!?"

"Oh, I was just thinking Rukia. If you were dead, it would explain you're lack of growth."

"Way of Binding #1: Sai!" As Rukia completed her incantation, she noted with satisfaction that binding Ichigo's hands had caused him to lose his balance and fall backwards into the fountain.

"Shit! Rukia, you said you weren't going to do that again! I'm gonna freaking drown!"

"No." she replied. "What I _said_ was that if you were agreeable I wouldn't do it again. And besides, that fountain's only half a foot deep. I doubt anyone could drown in it."

"Damn it, if you don't let me out of this I swear I'm going to-" Ichigo stopped himself when he noticed that Rukia seemed to be staring off into the distance with a glazed look in her eyes. As he watched, she began to sway perilously on her legs, completely oblivious to what was happening.

Ichigo began thrashing about in the fountain in an effort to get his hands undone, but it didn't seem to be working. "_She's gonna really hurt herself if she falls on this concrete. Why the hell did she bind my hands again_?"

As he watched, Rukia's eyes fluttered shut and she began to tilt to one side...

* * *

A/N: No, Rukia doesn't have cancer. I love her too much for that, lol. Anyways, I hope things are getting a little more interesting for you all, and thanks to everyone that's read so far. Ciao.


	4. Caught

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

* * *

**From Chapter 3**:

"Damn it, if you don't let me out of this I swear I'm going to-" Ichigo stopped himself when he noticed that Rukia seemed to be staring off into the distance with a glazed look in her eyes. As he watched, she began to sway perilously on her legs, completely oblivious to what was happening.

Ichigo began thrashing about in the fountain in an effort to get his hands undone, but it didn't seem to be working. "_She's gonna really hurt herself if she falls on this concrete. Why the hell did she bind my hands again_?"

As he watched, Rukia's eyes fluttered shut and she began to tilt to one side...

* * *

_Rukia awoke to find herself lying in a pool of her own blood. "_That's funny._"_ _she thought._ _"_I can't feel the wound, but I know it's my blood._" Standing up, she realized that something was tugging at her chest. Looking down, she saw that she had a chain of fate, but it seemed to be broken..._

_Rukia felt a chill go up her back. _

_Lying on the ground in front of her was her body, no longer connected to her. Startled, she backed up a couple paces. "_What the hell is going on? I'm not human; I shouldn't even have a body, connected or not_!" Still, Rukia couldn't help but feel cold and hopeless at the sight of her own body._

_As she looked on, her body began to dissolve into the earth around it. Horrified and unable to control the sense of helplessness engulfing her, Rukia screamed and threw herself at her body, trying in vain to grasp some part of it. All her hands came away with was dust. Looking at the barren wasteland around her, she put her face in her hands and sobbed. _

"Is this what it's like to be dead_?" she thought._

"_Rukia, since when do you take death so seriously?" Startled, Rukia looked up, only to find herself staring into the empty void around her. Where had that voice come from? It was soft and feminine, yet its tone seemed to command a great deal of respect. Rukia felt like she had heard it somewhere before... _

"_What do you mean?" she cried. "My chain of fate has been severed!"_

_A deep sigh resonated across the void, causing Rukia to shiver. "Rukia, you are so full of life—how can you let such feeble thoughts rule you?"_

"_But my chain of fate..." she answered feebly._

"_Chain of fate? Rukia, you are a shinigami; since when do you possess a chain of fate?"_

"_But it's right here-" Rukia stopped mid-sentence as she looked down and realized that her chain of fate was not there anymore._

"_Life and death are arbitrary terms, Rukia; you should know that by now. They describe a soul's location, nothing more."_

"Death as a description of location_?" thought Rukia. "That's what I told Ichigo..."_

"_Then remember your own wisdom. You may not have a human body, but your soul shines just as brightly."_

_With these last words, Rukia knew the voice had gone, and she felt the world around her fade quickly to nothing..._

_

* * *

_

Rukia's eyes blinked rapidly as they adjusted to the light. "_God_," she thought. "_What the hell happened_?"

As she gradually became aware of her surroundings, she was surprised to find herself in a bed; she certainly couldn't remember falling asleep in one. Curious, she attempted to prop herself up on one elbow and a get a better view of the room she was in.

Bad idea.

Cursing softly to herself, Rukia quickly laid back down as a wave of dizziness washed over her. "Ugh. I guess I really did it this time." Not a person given to defeat, however, Rukia opted instead to turn her head to the side in order to take in her surroundings.

She appeared to be in small room made for one person to live in. The bed that she laid in stood against the wall opposite the door, underneath of a large window. Along one side of the room there was a tiny kitchenette, though she couldn't imagine what anyone would cook in such a small space. The other side of the room contained a futon and a desk, and there was a small bathroom right inside the door.

Although Rukia had never seen one with a kitchenette, she guessed that she was in a college dorm room. She also noted that this particular room appeared to be well-organized for a college student—albeit sparsely decorated. A few posters with band names and insignia decorated the wall and a few odds and ends littered the dresser, but otherwise the room didn't seem to have much to look at. Other than the various papers and books scattered on the desk by the computer, there wasn't much to indicate that whoever lived here even spent very much time in the room at all.

Rukia's thoughts about the room were interrupted as the door opened. Rukia mentally reprimanded herself for being as surprised as she was. Who else did she think it would be?

Carrying a brown paper bag in one hand, Ichigo walked into the room and set the bag on the counter in the kitchen area across from the bed. He had his back to Rukia, but instead of saying something to him she watched him rummage through the bag he had brought in. As he withdrew some of the contents, the faint scent of Chinese take-out wafted in her direction, causing her mouth to water. She noted with pleasure that Ichigo appeared to have two orders.

Seeing the food, Rukia decided that she'd waited long enough. Moving gingerly, she carefully sat herself up on the bed. When she was sure that her dizziness had subsided for the moment, it was time to get Ichigo's attention.

"Ahem." she cleared her throat slightly. Surprised, Ichigo turned on his heel and his eyes shot over to where Rukia sat.

She was instantly taken aback by his eyes. It was obvious that he was very concerned about her, and his dark, amber-colored eyes conveyed this concern perfectly. Whatever words she had been prepared to say left her, and she instead mumbled, "Oy." while looking down at her hands.

"Oy." came the relieved response, followed by, "How are you feeling?"

"Better, but not great. How long was I out?"

Ichigo nodded. "About four hours; you look much better now. At first, you looked pretty bad." he said, quickly adding, "No offense."

"None taken. What happened exactly? How did I end up in your bed?" Rukia noted that her question seemed to make Ichigo uncomfortable, but maybe she was just imagining things.

"Well, uh, let's see. Your eyes went blank, just like in the cafeteria, but I guess this time was worse because you completely blacked out after that and lost your balance. When you didn't wake up, I brought you back here because I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to take you to a human doctor."

"That was probably a good idea." Rukia said. Pointing at herself, she continued, "I'm not sure how extensive this gigai is, since it's only supposed to convince people that I'm human on the outside." Something was bothering her, however. "Ichigo, it doesn't look like my gigai's injured anywhere, yet I probably fell on the pavement by the fountain. How can that be?"

Hearing her question, Ichigo scratched the back of his head, and looked pointedly to the side. "_Does he look even more uncomfortable now, or is it just me_?" Rukia thought.

"Ah, well, I...had to catch you to keep you from hurting yourself." Ichigo said slowly. Looking even more uncomfortable, he continued, "And then I...ah...I carried you back to my room."

"Oh." came the reply.

Why did Rukia feel embarrassed? He did what any sensible person would have done, yet something was still bothering her... Suddenly realizing what it was, she looked up quickly at Ichigo.

"Ichigo, how did you break the kidō that I'd set on you?"

He just gave her a blank stare. "Huh?"

"Kidō is the term shinigami use to describe techniques like the one I used to kill that hollow the other night or the one I used to bind your hands. Anyways, my memory gets a little hazy after I bound your hands, but the effect shouldn't have dispelled even when I fell."

"Oh, that? I just thought that since you blacked out, it broke because you couldn't concentrate on it anymore or something."

Rukia frowned. "Ichigo, kidō doesn't work like that; well, not the basic techniques at least. As long as my reiatsu—my spiritual pressure—doesn't run out, my kidō shouldn't falter. Clearly that didn't happen since I'm still alive, so how in world did you get out of that binding?"

Ichigo shrugged. "Well, when I saw that you were falling, I just pushed really hard against it and my hands came free. I don't know; it all happened so quickly and I was really focused on trying to get to you before you hit the ground..." He simply shrugged again as his voice trailed off. "Why? Is that not normal?" he asked.

"_Hell no it's not_." she thought. Regaining her composure mentally, Rukia instead replied simply, "Well, I'm not really sure, but I guess it's fine since everything worked out. Don't worry about it."

"Whatever." Ichigo turned back towards the food he had laid on the counter, leaving Rukia to her thoughts.

Although Rukia had never been a member of the Research and Development Institute, she knew it shouldn't be possible for any human to break even the simplest bakudō, no matter the circumstances. Beyond that, however, she had no idea what it could mean. She sighed. "_Is there nothing normal about this person_?" she thought. This certainly wasn't the only thing that had been bothering her about Ichigo. She didn't even want to think about some of the other things that she had noticed, and she was beginning to think that Ichigo would not even understand the questions she wanted to ask him, let alone answer them.

"_Either way,_" she thought, "_I need to see Urahara, and soon_."

* * *

Rukia spent the rest of the evening in Ichigo's dorm room. She didn't think she was in any immediate danger, but she still felt pretty weak whenever she moved around too much. Luckily, no hollows appeared the entire time, so she was able to rest.

Despite his initial protests that any of the Chinese food he had brought back was for her, Ichigo finally relented and gave Rukia "half of his dinner." Rukia had to smile at this feeble cover-up. It was obvious that the food was a separate order, and despite his stupid attempts to hide it, she was thankful. Her ordeal had left her famished, and she tore into the food without a second thought.

Ichigo smirked. "Slow down, Rukia. It's gonna be hard to fight hollows if you're too fat to move." Clearly, Ichigo thought he would be safe because he sat at his desk on the other side of the room. He was wrong.

Rukia may have been weak, but she still had more than enough strength for throwing; luckily for her, Ichigo kept a few books on the night stand next to his bed. She smiled in triumph when Ichigo's Calculus book connected with his forehead.

Jumping up, Ichigo roared in pain. "Oww! Damn it, Rukia! If you weren't sick I'd swear I would-ahhhhhhh!"

Unfortunately, Ichigo had left his backpack sitting right next to his desk. As he jumped up from his seat, his foot caught in one of the straps and sent him sprawling...right towards the bed.

Rukia's eyes widened in panic. "Ichigo, Watch out! You're going to-" With a terrific crash, Ichigo's body lurched onto the bed, smothering any further words that Rukia might have said.

Neither of them moved for a few moments. When Rukia finally opened her eyes, she found herself staring straight into Ichigo's wide open eyes, not three inches in front of her. Anything she was about to say died on her lips.

For Ichigo's part, he was able to avoid completely crushing her by throwing an elbow out to either side of her on the bed, the result being that his upper body hovered mere inches above hers. Rukia could feel his hot breath on her face, and she felt herself blushing...

"Ichigo..." she murmured softly. He gulped visibly.

"Ye-yea?" he stuttered.

"I think we'd better-" Rukia was interrupted by the sound of the door crashing open.

"I~~chigo!!!"

Keigo bounded into the room, looking around excitedly for his long-time friend.

"Ichigo, you never came back to lunch earlier! What happen-" As Keigo's eyes came to rest on the two figures sprawled out on the bed, their heads now turned towards him in horror, he suddenly threw his hands in the air dramatically.

"Ichigo! How could you! I was going to ask Kuchiki-san out! Womanizer! Fiend!" Keigo was now sobbing visibly as he ran around the room. Shocked into inaction, the two figures in the bed could only gape. Finally, Ichigo finally pulled it together enough to at least say something.

"Keigo! It's not what you think! Rukia hit me with a book, and I tripped and fell-"

"Waaaahhhh! You're even calling her Rukia already! Ichigo, you always take the good ones!"

As Keigo continued to run around the room, Ichigo was momentarily distracted by the sound of another voice coming from down the hallway. "Keigo? What are you yelling about? And in Ichigo's room, no less."

"No, Ishida, wait a min-" as Ichigo lifted one arm to protest, he lost his balance and suddenly there was no more space between him and Rukia. It was at this point that Ishida decided to walk in the door, followed silently by Chad.

"Oh my..." Ishida uttered as he stared at the scene before him. Quickly assessing the situation, he came to the most logical conclusion: Keigo had walked in on Ichigo and Rukia making out.

"Ichigo, if you wanted some privacy with Kuchiki-san, why didn't you lock your door?"

Struggling to push himself up, Ichigo tried to protest. "Did you say _privacy_? What the hell do you think we were doing?!?" Ichigo finally managed to prop himself up on one elbow on one side of the bed, still too flustered to consider that he should probably get out of the bed entirely. "Look guys, I tripped and fell, that's-"

Ichigo was interrupted as Chad raised one large arm and extended a finger in Ichigo's direction. Even Keigo stopped sobbing momentarily in expectation.

"Look. Kuchiki-san is flushed."

Indeed, throughout the ordeal Rukia had become more and more embarrassed, and the result was that she had now turned a bright shade of pink.

"What? She's freaking embarrassed, Chad! Why else would she be flushed...?"

"Who's flushed?" Tatsuki said, stepping into the room.

"_Oh shit_." thought Ichigo.

Seeing exactly what Chad meant by "flushed," Tatsuki could only stare for a minute. Then all hell broke loose.

"_What_? I came by to see why you skipped practice, and I find out it's because you're taking advantage of the new girl? Prepare yourself, Ichigo!"

Ichigo managed to jump up from the bed before Tatsuki could throw him off, but it didn't matter. Even as he landed on his feet, her fist collided with his face, sending him crashing into his futon.

"Ahhh! Tatsuki, it's not what you think!"

"Like I'd believe that! And even after walking Orihime home last night!"

Tatsuki prepared to end Ichigo's life as the three boys watched on, but a small voice interrupted her.

"Uh, Tatsuki?"

All heads turned towards the bed, where Rukia was sitting up and smoothing out the front of her dress.

"Ichigo's telling the truth. I got sick earlier and was using his bed to rest in, but he tripped and fell on me before you all came in."

Still looking skeptical, Tatsuki lowered her fist. "...Fine. But if this guy-" Tatsuki gestured towards Ichigo with her thumb. "-ever tries to pull anything on you, just let me know and I'll be sure to beat the shit out of him."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Tatsuki." Ichigo said as he sat up on the futon, rubbing his jaw. Glaring at his childhood friend, he added, "Now if you all don't mind, can you please leave so Rukia can get some rest?"

As Tatsuki gave a huff and headed for the door, the others made to follow her. Keigo looked a little sad and Chad remained passive as always as they headed out the door, but Ishida stayed where he was. Glowering, Ichigo growled, "Is there something you needed, Ishida?"

"No, not really. I just wanted to tell you to be careful, should you ever decide to "trip and fall" again." Before Ichigo could protest, he turned and walked out the door. Jumping up, Ichigo walked over to door to close it, grumbling.

"What, do they all just hang around my door or something? I'm glad that's over. Rukia, are you...?"

As Ichigo shut the door and turned back around, he found that Rukia was no where in sight. He felt a gentle breeze blowing against his face from the now open window, and he quickly ran over to look out. Only darkness greeted him.

Sighing, Ichigo went back and sat down at his desk. "_I hope that idiot is feeling better_." he thought.

* * *

A/N: Nothing much to say right now. Sorry if any of you guys got two story updates because I'm still a noob and didn't know how to edit something I already posted! But thanks for reading! Ciao!


	5. Stay Calm

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

* * *

**From Chapter 4**:

As Ichigo shut the door and turned back around, he found that Rukia was no where in sight. He felt a gentle breeze blowing against his face from the now open window, and he quickly ran over to look out. Only darkness greeted him.

Sighing, Ichigo went back and sat down at his desk. "_I hope that idiot is feeling better_." he thought.

* * *

Rukia loved nights like these.

The darkness surrounding her and the college campus below was broken only by the pale shafts of moonlight filtering through the clouds. As Rukia drifted noiselessly from one rooftop to another, she breathed in the night air and let her thoughts drift...

...back to the warm room she had just left that contained a certain someone who was also quite warm.

Rukia stopped atop a telephone pole and looked up at the moon, which had momentarily freed itself from the clouds' embrace. "_Why can't I stop thinking about him_?" she thought. "_Unohana-taicho_ _would be disappointed_."

_**-Flashback-**_

Though her classes at the Shinigami Academy had consisted largely of swordsmanship, kidō, and other skills necessary to a shinigami, what Rukia remembered most were the special lessons taught by the captain of the fourth squad, Unohana Retsu. While the other captains rarely made an appearance at the academy, Unohana had insisted on teaching a single lesson each week.

The captain of the 4th squad would have undoubtedly made an excellent teacher of the healing arts, but she instead decided to teach a class on "relaxation," as she referred to it. Rukia quickly realized, however, that what Unohana was really trying to teach was how to focus in battle.

"Of all the skills you will learn in the Shinigami Academy, the ability to relax, even as you are fighting for your very life, will be the most difficult to master. For those of you thinking that it is not the most important, however, I will say only this: I have seen many a shinigami perish simply because they could not keep their wits about them in battle."

Despite Unohana's grave assertions, Rukia had seen little point in the breathing techniques and the exercises which prompted students to "clear their minds." Still, out of respect for Unohana, Rukia returned for every lesson and gave it her all, hoping to gain some sudden insight into the captain's teachings—she couldn't say the same for her classmates. Rukia still grinned whenever she remembered how far Renji had made it. Half-way through the first lesson, Unohana had smiled at him, saying, "Abarai-san, why don't you practice in your room?"

"That's okay, sensei, I can contin-"

"Abarai-san...why don't you practice in your room?" If possible, Unohana's smile became even warmer with her repeated words, yet an intense feeling of foreboding seemed to accompany it, causing everyone in the room to shudder.

...Renji did not return for the second lesson.

Of course, he was not the only casualty. By the final lesson, Rukia was one of the few students that remained, despite having made what she considered little progress. When Unohana dismissed the class, Rukia sighed, thinking to herself, "Well, that was a colossal waste of time." As she headed out the door, however, Unohana placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

"Kuchiki-san, do you have a moment?"

Surprised, Rukia could only stammer in reply, "Unohana-taicho! Of-of-course!"

"I wanted to tell you that your brother would be proud to see how hard his sister is working."

"Th-thank you, Unohana-taicho!"

"It must run in the family; your brother is always so calm, though privately I think that may just be his personality, right Kuchiki-san?"

Despite Unohana's small joke about her brother, Rukia lowered her head slightly. "I don't think I could ever be as good as Nii-sama..."

"Nonsense Kuchiki-san! You did so well in the classes! What would make you say such a thing?"

"Unohana-taicho, I know it may have looked like I was doing well in the class, but really...I had a lot of trouble concentrating on your tasks."

Unohana smiled. "Oh, so that's it? Let me tell you a secret. The true purpose of these classes was to see if you could focus on _trying to focus_, yet not become so frustrated as to leave before the final lesson. Since you're here talking with me right now, I'd have to say you passed." Unohana beamed at Rukia.

"Taicho, I'm not quite sure I understand...so you didn't expect us to actually accomplish the tasks you gave us?"

"Kuchiki-san, it takes years of practice in order to be able to clear your mind at will. It also takes more patience than most people are capable of, so the purpose of this class was to start building a foundation of patience. You saw how few students were able to make it through all of these classes, let alone master the art of clearing one's mind. How much patience do you think that would take?"

Rukia continued to look at the ground for a few seconds. "I see." she said, suddenly raising her head. "In that case, Unohana-taicho, I will continue to practice until I have the necessary patience to master this skill."

Unohana smiled wider as she turned to go. "I have no doubts that you will, Kuchiki-san. No doubts at all."

* * *

Although Rukia had every intention of following through with her promise to Unohana, she often found that she had enough tasks as a member of the 13th division without trying to fit relaxation practice in. It wasn't until many years later that she discovered the true value of what Unohana had been trying to teach her.

On a routine mission to the human world, Rukia encountered a particularly nasty hollow that had evaded shinigami for many years. Shaped like a spider with blades for legs, it moved extremely fast, and the other squad members that had accompanied her were soon dead. Rukia would have been too, but her skills had always been considerably better than the average squad member's; she suspected that the only reason she remained unseated was due to her brother's influence.

Landing in the grass across from the monster, Rukia thought, "_He's not so fast that I can't see his attacks. I can do this_."

Seeing the look of determination of Rukia's face, the hollow laughed. "I can always tell when a shinigami is underestimating me." Without warning, Rukia's left shoulder exploded in pain as a bladed leg raked over her flesh. Gasping in pain, Rukia quickly turned and slashed downwards, hoping to sever the leg that cut her. Instead her sword met only air.

Hearing laughter behind her, Rukia turned back around to find the hollow standing in the same place it had been before, laughing. "_What the hell was that_?" she thought. "_Can he really move that fast_?"

"Hehehe. I told you I can always tell when I'm being underestimated. You were thinking that you would be fine because you could still keep up with my speed, weren't you?"

Hearing this, Rukia's eyes narrowed. "_Shit_." she thought.

"Hehehe. What a beautiful expression. I can tell I was right just by looking at you. Did you really think that I'd survived all these years with such slow speed? I'm much faster than you thought! Hehehe."

"_Damn. He's right. I couldn't even follow his motions that time_." Rukia barely had time to finish her thought before she was attacked again, this time from the right. Rukia dodged, but it was too late: she now bled from a deep gash in her side.

"That's pretty good, shinigami; that cut was meant to slice you in half, but you can't expect to win like that. Wounds add up over time. Hehehe."

"_I hate to admit it, but he's right again_." she thought. "_If this goes on for much longer, I won't be able to fight anymore_." Her thinking was interrupted by the hollow's high-pitched laughing.

"Hehehe! What are you gonna do, shinigami? You can't keep up with me!"

"_I know one thing, if he doesn't stop that laughing I'll never be able to concentrate hard enough to_-" Rukia suddenly stopped in the middle of her thoughts. "_Wait. Maybe he doesn't want me to concentrate? There has to be something I'm missing here; i know he wasn't that fast before..._"

Slowing her breathing, Rukia took up a defensive stance as she stared coolly at the hollow in front of her. Raising one of its bladed forelegs, it held it up in front of its face and said, "Soon, this leg will be covered in your blood, shinigami. Won't that be sweet? Hehehe!"

As the hollow laughed, Rukia's eyes widened. "_Wait. He's cut me twice already. Why isn't there blood on his legs already_?" Looking more closely at the sharp edges of the hollow's legs, Rukia's suspicions were confirmed: none of them had any blood on them.

"_How can that be_...?" she thought. As the pieces fell together in her mind, Rukia's eyes widened. "_Unless_..." Rukia concentrated, using her reiatsu to feel out the environment around her...

Seeing the small shinigami suddenly concentrating on something, the hollow stopped laughing momentarily. "Still trying to figure out a way to catch me, shinigami? Why don't I help you out...and come to you!"

As the hollow roared these last words, Rukia felt a shimmer on the edge of her senses. Although it was barely perceptible, there was no doubt about what it was. She quickly slashed to the side and was rewarded when her sword struck home. Hearing a hollow's scream, Rukia looked at what she had cut.

Lying to her side was what appeared to be a much smaller version of the hollow that had been taunting her the entire time. Though its appearance was identical to the hollow in front of her, Rukia judged it to be no larger than a child, though the blades on its legs deterred any thoughts of child-like behavior. "_And this one has blood on its legs_." she noted with satisfaction. As she watched it writhing in pain at her feet, the larger hollow in front of her roared.

"What! How did you cut him? You shouldn't have been able to sense him! Damn you, shinigami!"

Ignoring the hollow's words, Rukia raised her sword and brought it down on the small hollow, cleaving its entire body in two. Without so much as a second glance, she turned back to the larger hollow in front of her and pointed her sword directly at its face. Staring down the length of her Zanpaktou, Rukia's violet eyes gleamed darkly as the body of the smaller hollow disintegrated into the air behind her.

"Damn you! We were like brothers! We traveled everywhere together! How? How could we be defeated by the likes of you!" the hollow roared.

Her eyes unwavering, Rukia replied, "You were just a distraction for him. He was so small and weak, his reiatsu went unnoticed. Your task was to fool the enemy into thinking that you were too fast for them so they wouldn't notice when your partner snuck up behind them and stabbed them in the back. A dishonorable tactic, but a good one, nonetheless." Rukia smiled.

"Too bad I figured it out."

Seeing her smile, the hollow charged, screaming in rage. As it bore down on Rukia, she didn't move a muscle. At the last second, as the hollow moved to cut her from chin to waist with one of his bladed legs, she flash-stepped behind him and drove her sword through the back of his head. Landing on her feet, Rukia quickly placed a hand to her side as the hollow disappeared into the air behind her.

"You should have stayed calm. I could barely stand." Sliding into unconsciousness, she slumped to the ground, which is where the relief squad found her sometime later.

_**-End Flashback-**_

Finally relenting to her body's cry for sleep, Rukia forced herself to continue on towards her destination, but her thoughts still wandered.

"_I was able to get out of that fight alive, but now I can't even stay calm enough to think straight. This is not how a Kuchiki is supposed to act! Why can't I stop thinking about him_?"

Despite her reproach, Rukia continued to be plagued by thoughts of Ichigo as she landed in front of a small shop in a quiet part of town. As she absentmindedly knocked on the door, Rukia mumbled to herself, "Maybe it's just because he's so strange?" Privately, Rukia wasn't so sure of herself. If she only found Ichigo interesting, then why did she keep getting images of him on top of her stuck in her head?

As Rukia continued to mumble to herself, the door in front of her flew open and light flooded out around the figure standing there.

"Kuchiki-san! So good to see you, but I must say, it's rather disturbing to find you mumbling at my doorstep at such a late hour. To what do I owe this strangeness?"

Blinking against the light, Rukia smiled at the man in front of her, who was dressed in the most flamboyant green and white striped pajamas she had ever seen. Although he had removed his hat for the night, there was no denying who he was.

"Urahara-san. Good to see you. Mind if I stay the night?"

Moving to one side, Urahara replied, "But of course, Kuchiki-san! Anything for my most valued customer!" Stepping in, Rukia casually threw her vial of gikongan in Urahara's direction.

"Do you have any more of these?"

"Of course. So I gather you like the retractable gigai?"

"Yeah, I do. At first I thought it would be a pain to use those pills since they don't contain any replacement souls." Remembering Ichigo's expression after having seen her lifeless gigai fall to the ground, she smirked. "But I have to say, I think I enjoy the added dramatic effect."

Eyeing her strangely, Urahara replied, "I'm not sure what you mean, but there'd be no point in having a replacement soul present if you're just going to seal the gigai back up. Did you find that part convenient?"

In truth, Rukia had found it very convenient. After the embarrassment she had suffered at the hands of Ichigo's friends tonight, she had needed to get out of his room fast, but she couldn't just leave the gigai sitting there, with or without a replacement soul. Thanks to Urahara's ingenuity, however, she had been able to package it up with a simple command.

"Ah, yeah, it worked out really well. Thanks. But..." she pinned Urahara down with her eyes as she held up a small, round case with a picture of a duck on it. "Next time I want Chappy, or there will be consequences."

Waving his hands back and forth frantically, Urahara responded, "But of course, Kuchiki-san! I will have Tessai make up a new batch right away!"

Listening to Urahara's banter, Rukia suddenly remembered how tired she was. It had been a long day, and she still wasn't sure if she had fully recovered from her "episode" from earlier. Interrupting him, Rukia asked, "Urahara, where can I sleep?"

"Right this way." he said as he led her down the hall. The room Urahara led her to was rather small and contained little else besides a sleeping mat, but Rukia was more than thankful. As he prepared to leave, a thought suddenly struck her.

"Urahara?"

"Yes Kuchiki-san?"

"Have you ever heard of a human being able to break a kidō spell before?"

Standing with one hand on the door frame, Urahara's voice became more serious. "No, I haven't, and furthermore I don't think it would be possible." His eyes narrowed as he looked at Rukia. "What would make you ask such a question?"

Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, Rukia replied, "Oh well, don't worry about it now. I actually came here because I have a few questions I need to ask you, but those can wait until morning."

Easing up slightly, Urahara replied, "Tomorrow then."

Fifteen minutes after Urahara had left the room, Rukia still laid awake on her mat.

"I guess I should have expected that. Still, Urahara seemed pretty sure of himself when he said it shouldn't be possible. I just hope the answers to my other questions aren't as distressing..."

As her voice trailed off, Rukia finally relented and allowed sleep to overtake her body.

* * *

A/N: I briefly considered extending this chapter, but it ended up being almost 3,000 words as it is, so...more for next chapter! Thanks for reading! Ciao.


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